Olympus Corporation participated in a project by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in India to develop advanced endoscopy diagnostics in India, where the healthcare system lacks professional endoscopists.
The rate of cancer morbidity is expected to increase in India, coupled with a severe shortage of doctors who can conduct precision diagnostics with endoscopes, there is a pressing need to train doctors for endoscopy which is essential for early detection and treatment of cancer.
Participating as a business promoter, Olympus cooperated with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications for the project titled, “Survey Study for International Expansion of AI Diagnosis Support System Using Ultra-High Magnifying Endoscopes in India.” Collaborating with Cybernet Systems Co. Ltd, Olympus was able to establish an AI diagnostic system a major medical institution, the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology (AIG) based in Hyderabad, India. Specialist lecturers and physicians from Showa University Northern Yokohama Hospital provided expert guidance to AIG doctors. In addition to training AIG doctors in techniques for detecting diseases and differential diagnosis by colonoscope, they also trained the doctors on how to instruct the next generation of endoscopists.
Olympus participated in this project to support trained AIG specialists to train doctors in India and neighbouring countries and to contribute to the popularization and development of endoscope diagnostics using the latest AI technology.
The project was launched in October 2020, with the aim of contributing to the introduction and dissemination of Japan’s endoscopic AI diagnostic support system to India and across Asia in response to the social issue of increasing cancer prevalence in India.
Kicking-off the project launch, Satoshi Hemmi, Deputy Director- General of the Information and Communications Bureau, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications commented, “We hope to contribute to the spread of AI endoscopy systems and the development of medical care in India through training future leaders in AI endoscopy systems in India. We also hope that the cooperation between India and Japan in the field of healthcare ICT will continue to develop.”
In addition to the ultra-magnifying scope Endocyto released last year, Olympus will release endoscopic diagnostic support software equipped with AI in India from December 2020. EndoBRAIN2 and EndoBRAIN-EYE3 are the support software that will be utilized for physician training in India. Olympus intends to assist in the development of physicians and promote the use of endoscopic diagnostics.
In addition to being covered with a dengue insurance plan underwritten by Great Eastern, users can also expect to gain access to relevant and affordable insurance products which will be available on the HeartVoice App. [APBN]